Aligning demand and supply flexibility in custom product co-design

Flexibility of supply and demand is essential for successful implementation of a mass customization strategy that delivers sustained competitive advantage. Supply flexibility, i.e., a choice of alternative products designed to perform the same basic function, is made possible by the range of capabilities available in flexible and agile manufacturing systems and in supply chains. Demand flexibility is derived from the degree to which a customer is willing to compromise on product features or performance levels in order to meet budgetary (reflected in price) or schedule (reflected in delivery) constraints. Flexibility of both supply and demand can have significant strategic and financial value if they are properly aligned. However, customers are mostly unaware of mapping of demand flexibility on to supply flexibility and its impact on production cost and time. Recent advances in information technology have made it possible to co-design a product that involves customer on one end and the manufacturer on the other. This creates an aura and an opportunity where a middle ground between the supply and demand flexibility can be explored and a “deal” can be struck where both parties settle for a product that is beneficial to both through a negotiated settlement. In this paper, we develop a framework for such negotiations. The customer requirements are treated as a range of negotiable options instead of a set of fixed inputs. Demand and supply for customization is then matched by aligning the flexibility of manufacturing systems with customers’ requirement options. Based on this framework, a negotiation scheme is developed to assist customers and manufacturers in exploring and utilizing demand and supply flexibility information in co-design. The negotiation scheme is formulated using goal programming. Finally, an interactive problem-solving procedure is developed and implemented with an illustrative example.

大规模定制研究综述

大规模定制是21世纪新的生产方式，正在引起理论界和企业界的广泛关注。从理论上，大规模定制的研究涉及许多生产组织理论问题，以及在工程技术方面的设计与制造等关键技术问题；在实践中，大规模定制已经在许多行业取得成功，为企业赢得了竞争优势。本文通过对大规模定制的文献分析，从基本理论、相关问题和产业对策三个方面，对大规模定制研究和应用进行总结，并就进一步研究提出建议。     

大批量定制的二维优化模型

提出了一种大批量定制(MC)的二维(产品维和过程维)优化模型,对MC的优化方向和优化方法作了较全面的描述,并用实际案例来深刻理解MC的意义和方法。以定制量最少为优化目标,并将产品维的优化分为深度优化和宽度优化,将过程维的优化分为客户订单分离点后移和减少各环节的定制比例。研究表明,MC是一种与制造企业和企业群、设计和过程全面优化相关的,渐进的、不断优化的先进制造系统模式。     

面向大规模定制的生产计划研究

激烈的市场竞争要求企业能快速响应客户的个性化产品需求,为单个客户或小批量多品种的市场定制生产产品。大规模定制能以大规模生产的成本和速度,为客户提供个性化设计的产品和服务。从大规模定制生产模式的特点出发,分析模块化制造物料清单(MBOM,Manufacturing Bill of Material)的基本构成。在MBOM模块化的基础上,基于延迟区分(Postponement Differentiation)策略建立大规模定制模式下的双重MPS计划管理模式,针对零部件的通用需求和定制需求分别制定计划,充分保证客户订单交货期,同时也提高了生产过程的柔性。     

From mass customization to mass personalization: a strategic transformation

Business and operations strategists have long sought to formulate strategies that would serve profitably for a market of one. Two decades after its conception, there is growing evidence that mass customization strategy is transforming into a mass personalization strategy, making the market of one a reality, at least in select industries. The degree of transformation of a company depends on the extent to which its product is soft, i.e., can be produced electronically. Thus, at the lower end of the personalization spectrum are manufacturing companies engaged in producing hard, configurable products, while on the high end of the spectrum are service companies whose product can be totally configured and delivered electronically. The underlying factors that are enabling this transformation, in our view, are: (1) development of information technologies such as peer to peer (P2P), business to consumer (B2C), and Web 2.0, (2) near-universal availability of the Internet, (3) customer willingness and preparedness to be integrated into the process of product co-design and co-creation, (4) modern manufacturing systems, such as flexible manufacturing and, of course, (5) mass customization tools such as modularity and delayed differentiation, which help reduce manufacturing cost and cycle times and (6) deployment of customer-satisfaction-specific software called customer relationship management (CRM) to engender customer retention. Due to the importance and strategic success of affordable personalization, this issue is dedicated to that theme. The articles included in this issue would, I believe, serve as significant decision support mechanisms for companies pursuing a mass customization and personalization strategy. In addition to providing a brief perspective on articles included in this issue, we also summarize the state of the art of mass customization research.

A Further Discussion on Trends in the Development of Advanced Manufacturing Technology

This paper is a supplement to “Trends in the Development of Advanced Manufacturing Technology” (Yang and Wu in Chin. J. Mech. Eng., 39: 73, 2003) but delves deeper into it. It first points out the strategic status of manufacturing industry in state development. Then, a detailed analysis is given on the features and trends in the development of advanced manufacturing technology in a total of 12 points from three aspects: “precision,” “extreme,” and “culture” from the aspect of the product itself; “green,” “rapidness,” “saving,” and “efficiency” during the manufacturing process; and “digit,” “auto,” “integration,” “networking,” and “intelligence” in view of the manufacturing method. In addition, it emphasizes that all the above aspects should be based on two base points: “manufacture” and “machinery.” Finally, it puts forth the guiding ideologies for the development of advanced manufacturing technology and the aspects China should give priority to in development, while stressing on the principles of independence, innovation and “human orientation.”     

大批量定制及其支撑技术研究

大批量定制是网络信息时代企业参与全球竞争的先进生产模式 ,它力图将大批量生产与定制生产的优势结合起来 ,以大批量生产的低成本和高效率来满足客户的个性化需求。在介绍大批量定制及主要支撑技术的基础上 ,提出了基于网络的客户个性化产品定制系统框架 ,并阐述了实现该系统框架的关键技术。     

Supply chain management program first- and second-order effects model: a new strategic tool

Utilisation of supply chain management (SCM) strategies have an implicit objective of gaining an advantage over one’s business arena partners, whether they be competition or supply chain partners; an SCM-derived competitive advantage. A literature review accentuated four bases of strategic competition (cost-based, resource-based, time-based and knowledge-based), upon which, such an SCM-derived competitive advantage might be built. A Monash University qualitative research study found that the majority of small- to medium-sized firms have found this to be a risky and unprofitable endeavour. In response, this paper explores the four bases of strategic competition through an exemplary success case found within the Australian textiles, clothing and footwear (TCF) industry. The research raised a proposition stated as “effective supply chain management increases shareholder value (SHV).” An effective SCM program influences key success drivers (e.g. expenses, asset utilisation and process cycle time) available to it in a manner that maximises the firm’s competitive position, given its chosen strategy. This paper presents a first- to second-order SCM effects matrix model as a small step towards the mainstream achievement of current world-wide best SCM practice. The matrix can be utilised by individuals planning supply chain change processes or teams evaluating potential change initiatives within their supply chain operations. The substructure of the matrix is examination by isolating just the time-based strategic key success drivers, as found in the literature. The matrix’s utilisation methodology is detailed to enable its application by practitioners.     

Analytical affective design with ambient intelligence for mass customization and personalization

The fulfillment of individual customer affective needs may award the producer extra premium in gaining a competitive edge. This entails a number of technical challenges to be addressed, such as the elicitation, evaluation, and fulfillment of affective needs, as well as the evaluation of affordability of producers to launch the planned products. Mass customization and personalization have been recognized as an effective means to enhance front-end customer satisfaction while maintaining back-end production efficiency. This paper proposes an affective design framework to facilitate decision-making in designing customized product ecosystems. In particular, ambient intelligence techniques are applied to elicit affective customer needs. An analytical model is proposed to support affective design analysis. Utility measure and conjoint analysis are employed to quantify affective satisfaction, while the producer affordability is evaluated using an affordability index. Association rule mining techniques are applied to model the mapping of affective needs to design elements. Configuration design of product ecosystems is optimized with a heuristic genetic algorithm. A case study of Volvo truck cab design is reported with a focus on the customization of affective features. It is demonstrated that the analytical affective design framework can effectively manage the elicitation, analysis, and fulfillment of affective customer needs. Meanwhile, it can account for the manufacturer’s capabilities, which is vital for ensuring a profit margin in the mass customization and personalization endeavor.     

基于大规模定制的多阶段生产模型

针对制造业大规模定制生产中缩短交货期和降低成本两方面,提出了基于预测的大规模生产阶段、基于订单的批量生产阶段和完全个性化生产阶段的个性化产品生产的三阶段模型.鉴于生产、库存及顾客服务水平等多方面因素,利用线性规划和随机数学,对模型应用的各种环境因素进行了综合分析,得到了大规模定制生产下的优化生产方案.最后,通过实例分析证明该模型是可行的.     

Mass customization research: trends, directions, diffusion intensity, and taxonomic frameworks

Mass customization (MC) as a business strategy is designed to simultaneously compete on two rival competitive priorities—the price and customization level of a product. MC academics and experts have gone a step further. They suggest that MC is a unique strategy whose implementation promises across-the-board improvement in all four of the competitive priorities (price, quality, flexibility, and speed) simultaneously. Its growing adoption by businesses in recent years, the steep rise in success stories associated with MC, and the voluminous body of publications in a short period of its existence have created a need to study the directions, trends, application potential, and research strategies embedded in these publications. Accordingly, this paper studies and analyzes the trends and directions of the research published in 1,124 MC publications that have appeared in journals and magazines since the inception of the term mass customization in 1987 by Stan Davis in his classic book Future Perfect. Statistical trend analyses are conducted to study the vitality and health of the field of MC using number of publications and number of publication outlets and their respective trends. The publication outlet data conform to an S curve, establishing maturity of the MC field. The publication data show that the MC field has passed through four stages of growth: incubation or slow (1987–1992), exponential (1993–2003), stable and matured (2003–2005). There is a slight dip in 2006 in terms of publication outlets; there are, however, confirmatory factors that indicate that the dip in 2006 may be an outlier. This paper also suggests developing a clear understanding of the value and type of research embodied in MC publications through three types of taxonomic analyses. The frameworks for all three taxonomies are set forth, two of which have been previously employed in other areas of OR/MS (Reisman and Kirschnik, Oper Res 42(4):577–588, 1994; Oper Res 43(5):731–740, 1995): The first taxonomic framework first classifies the paper as a theory paper or an application paper. At the second stage, the application content of the publication is determined based on a five-point scale ranging from simple modeling of the real world to bona fide real-world application. The second taxonomic framework suggests usage of a taxonomy comprised of seven distinct types of research strategies. The former analysis provides important information about the application worthiness of the MC publications and hence their usefulness to the real world. The second analysis provides information about the type of research strategies used by MC researchers, which, in turn, allows drawing conclusions about the quality and rigor of such research. The third taxonomic framework suggested recommends classification of all publications among multi-level containers based on the disciplines that intersect with MC and their branches.     

实现组织与顾客共赢的产品族规划与延迟策略决择

在大规模定制(MC)模式下,企业通过产品族规划来最大化顾客满意度和最大化组织利润。基于MC的两个实现策略:产品设计模块化定制化、制造过程延迟化,提出了一种产品族定制设计系统化方法。构建多维扩展质量屋、将市场需求有效转换为产品族及成员的定制属性取值;将制造延迟区分过程与供应链相结合,构建多级生产供应库存运作系统、以预测定制模块及定制产品的成本;当配置定制属性与成本而构成虚拟定制产品族时,利用联合分析法研究市场对各定制产品的偏好效用、以此明确产品族定制规划与延迟形式;而不同方案的对比可决择产品族的适宜定制程度与恰当延迟策略、实现顾客与组织共赢。最后,通过一个实例来说明理论与方法的有效性。     

面向大规模定制的产品快速配置与成本计算研究

世界制造业的生产模式正逐渐由大规模生产发展向大规模定制。在大规模定制的生产模式下,企业要取得竞争优势,必须具备敏捷性。能否对客户的需求迅速做出响应,快速配置出客户定制的产品结构,计算出产品成本和报价并提供给客户是企业敏捷性的重要表现之一。本文根据大规模定制生产方式的特点,提出基于实例推理的产品快速配置与成本计算法,该方法通过检索存储在实例库中的相关实例,可以快速地配制出产品的制造清单,并较为准确的计算出产品的成本。本文详细论述了该方法中的产品实例构建以及检索算法等关键技术,并就产品成本计算问题进行了探讨。     

基于相关矩阵的产品配置模型和算法实现

大规模定制生产是用大规模生产的高效率和低成本来生产能满足不同用户个性化需求的生产模式 ,配置设计是大规模定制生产的重要关键技术之一。在分析产品配置模型特点的基础上 ,提出了基于相关矩阵表达模块之间配置关系的思想 ,并对配置规则的表达、相关矩阵的构建进行了研究 ,建立了基于相关矩阵的产品配置模型与确定模块选配关系的相关矩阵的搜索算法。最终 ,以定时器产品的配置设计为例 ,对以上理论进行了实践     

支持MC模式运作的需求建模流程及关键技术研究

针对需求建模在大规模定制模式下需要解决的问题，提出了支持大规模定制模式运作的广义需求模型，论述了面向双向需求信息循环的建模流程，给出了需求信息元、广义需求分类体系、需求驱动循环网络等建模方法与关键技术。广义需求模型有利于需求信息表达的规范化、系统化，通过需求驱动支持大规模定制系统的高效运作，从而提高了系统实施的整体效益。最后，通过分析项目案例归纳出适合我国企业实情的“进化式”实施策略。     

Mass Customization in Videotape Duplication and Conversion: Challenges of Flexible Duplication Systems, Fast Delivery, and Electronic Service

With the emergence of electronic commerce technology, marketers gained new methods for personalizing electronic advertisements, automating marketing research, and customizing product designs. These developments suggest that production operations also must be redesigned to support contemporary marketing objectives via mass customization. Yet, operations management research historically has focused on mass production systems buffering the customer from production operations. As such, the literature provides relatively few insights about managing mass customization operations. Thus, in this paper, we consider a previously unexamined type of mass customization production operations. The paper presents a case study of a manufacturer's videotape duplication and conversion system, consisting of a flexible network of heterogeneous, parallel machines used to duplicate and convert videotapes and other multimedia. We describe the characteristics of this flexible duplication system, discuss parallels between these systems and mass customization, and identify issues regarding flexibility, speed of delivery, and electronic service.     

以顾客满意为中心的大规模定制质量改进

以顾客满意为中心的大规模定制质量改进研究是为解决大规模定制生产模式下保证稳定的、不断改进的产品质量,以持续提升顾客满意度问题而提出的系统性方法。在对大规模定制质量改进过程中顾客满意、产品平台、质量保证、改进过程和相互关系等关键要素分析的基础上,构建质量改进体系,实现产品平台质量的稳定和持续改进,继而推动最终产品的质量改进,增强企业满足顾客个体与群体质量要求的能力,最终达到持续提升顾客满意的目的。     

面向在线大规模定制的产品族规模优化方法

为有效平衡在线定制产品过程中客户满意度、产品维护复杂性和维护成本之间的矛盾,指出产品族规模的确定不仅需要从工程设计和制造经济性等角度出发,还需要充分考虑客户的需求偏好和强度.从工程设计和生产制造角度定义了产品族规模,构建了基于功能配置元和零件配置元的客户需求偏好与强度分析模型.在此基础上提出了基于客户满意度的在线大规模定制产品族优化方法和优化步骤.最后,结合案例证明了该方法能有效平衡产品族维护复杂性和高成本同客户满意度之间的矛盾.     

基于改进混合蚁群算法的大批量定制协同制造链优化 

针对大批量定制协同制造链优化配置问题,以质量、成本、时间、提前交货期和协同度为评价指标,以最小化评估指标综合值为目标,建立了大批量定制协同制造链的优化配置数学模型,构造了适合该模型特征的改进混合蚁群算法并阐述了其求解过程。范例计算及对比分析表明,该方法是有效的、可行的。研究结果为大批量定制协同制造链的优化配置提供了可参考的模型和求解算法。     

面向大规模定制的制造系统关键技术

根据大规模定制生产对制造系统动态响应的要求，研究了大规模定制制造系统的模块化、结构形式以及控制结构等方面的关键技术。讨论了虚拟工厂技术在大规模定制制造系统规划中的应用，并给出了一个汽车装配线的虚拟工厂框架。